** Updated Aug 20 2011: Pictures added, Groupset composition was a mess, cleaned up and properly WW'd, Total weights redone and grand totals put in with grand total savings **

Hi all,

I'm a Triathlete in my early 30ties. Mostly, I train for 70.3(½IM) and IM races and don't do OD/Sprints, unless its really convinient to get to and/or do one. I've done Tri seriously for little over a year now. Goal is to improve from an Ok AG athlete to a topend AG athlete. PB on the 180 km's is 5:21 in IM and 185 km's in strong sidewinds and dust rain in 5:40.

I don't do roadie training due to not having cash for a nice roadie other than my TT bike for Tri and I don't do roadie/TT races because I hate UCI rules. MTB is something I might do later down the line but mostly for fun, probably not for racing or WW'ing a MTB, because I frankly know very little about MTB so maybe in a few years time.

I mainly train Triathlon cause I like eating alot of good food while training my ass off and being buzy in general. I like the bike segment a whole alot and I commited myself to trying to get an Ultimate TT Tri only bike. This not only means shedding weight, but also to make sure its aero, stiff and just comfortable enough to wanna ride it nonstop for 180-200(Abu Dhabi) kms.

The goal with creating a WW profile and posting here is to get the absolute topend-bike-part experts to comment on my TT upgrade plans and with you guys evolve my bike from its now nearly stock state towards a green rocket. The timeframe for getting the parts and stuff is 2 years from now, so September 2013 if all goes well and I don't lose my job or crash and die etc.

Weight atm is just a touch over 9,0kg's, I'm still waiting for that Kern HDB 10K10 which is max 10kg and 10grams intervals, hanging scale, seems like the optimal bike part weight for big parts, so the 9,0kgs is based on bathroom scale with me contra me+bike and 100gram intervals.

The expansion plan in rough numbers and with the weight I could predict(I'm probably missing something in the weight count, please tell me if you spot something):

Thank you very much. I thought a picture would be silly as its stock mostly atm, but I will take one tomorrow when the sun is shining(hopefully!).

Do you see any parts missing in my "Gram-sheet" ?..Its not so much because I want the lightest, its mostly to be accurate gramwise(especially here on WW!) and max the Aero without getting silly expensive or unreliable, for the info it might provide to others.

I saw a WW guy with a nice motto I liked: "AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT". Thats what I'm going for and I think its also fun to actually see and feel the bike improve!

Sidenotes, - As for the Frame:I know there are lighter frames out there and QR recently made the Illicito frame which is even more aero than the CD0.1 frame, but in Triathlon competitions there are other not so obvious concerns like the color of your bike in the T1 zone. A green and yellow frame is damn easy to spot among thousands of black/red/white bikes! I've walked T1 routes before races, but in the haze, rush and hassle an (almost) unique colorlayout is SO helpfull! So therefore I keep the frameset and maybe change it in 2014 or 2015 at earliest.(btw, QR CD0.1 2010 frame = QR CD0.1 2011 frame according to my Retül fitter)

For Tri concentrate more on aero. There is some increasing interest in aero here, but as the majority of riding on this forum is not TT or Triatholon, you will encounter many in-depth and continual debates on the merits of aero frames (non-TT/Tri).

The forums at SlowTwitch are more oriented for TT/Tri specialists.

As for colour: no reason you can't get your rig custom painted however you want!

I have a friend who used to do Tris (she still does, but we've lost touch) - she would set up her transition area perfectly, but before the race place a teddy bear of somesort on bike, something that would be visible from a distance as everyone was running into the pits. Quick change, grab the doll (she gave it a quick kiss... actually that was the best part, she is incredibly hot) tossed it aside and rode off. She said it helped lighten the mood when everyone is so cross-eyed with racing adrenaline. Might be something to consider with your own twist?

From one triathlete (although no Ironman!) to another, thats great in theory, but if you are a typical IM'er, then chances are you will overload your bike with so much gear, you bike weight is almost irrelvant.

Bvb45 wrote:

The performance goal is to get my body is shape for 4:45 for 180 and then hopefully the parts on the bike will get me closer and closer towards 4:30.Comments welcome.

IMO, I would spend the money on getting aero and getting fast.So either spend your money on a visit to a wind tunnel (getting very aero means getting fast on minimal power) or (my preference), buy a powermeter.

A powermeter is a great tool for racing Ironman because you can ;1. Use it to nail your training and improve your fitness2. Use it to pace your race. A 10 minute slower, evenly paced bike split could easily save you more than 30 minutes in the marathon3. Use it to get aero. Plenty of info on the net detailing on how to use your PM to improve you position on the bike and get you as slippery as possible.

Another welcome here. I love to see the tri/tt bikes and yours is a fine example. I'm finish up this year on my current frame and have picked up a Scott Plasma 2 for next year. While its not really free speed but speed you don't have to train any hard to get! The new frame that is.

My optimizations will still shed near 3 kg off my bike and I can't think that this won't help alot going up all those hills, but more importantly because I don't really wan't a roadie bike; I want to use this bike for even mountainous 70.3/IMs like Silverman, Lanzarote, St.George and maybe Norseman within the next 5 years.

I don't overload my bike that much I think, last IM I had: (I weighed most of these myself just now on my kitchen scale)

0280g 1 spare pre-stretched, pre-glued tubular, Conti Sprinter Gatorskin0058g CO2 canister0015g Xlab Speed Chuck V2(It says 17, but mine showed 15..)0082g 1 Vittoria Pitstop0086g Xlab Superwing0076g 2xGorilla bottles holders* (Pricy, but they NEVER drop a bottle)0086g 1 transparant High5 bottle, marked with 12 stripes, full of the content of..0750g ..12 SiS Isogels(750ml)(Optimal bike nutrition for me, don't take in anything else till run)0298g I use a Speedfil system(for Aero and cause I can drink while in the bars, might be Torhans Aero 30 in the future for a less bothersome system)0750g Energywater in Speedfil max 750ml in it at a time, refilled once only at the 90-120km aid station.0086g* 1 aid station bottle..------2557g extras, not including tape and reuseable strips holding the Pitstop, tubular, Speedfil tube, Speed Chuck in place. Bag solution too heavy.

*: The other empty bottleholder is then carrying the empty aid station bottle 20km till next bottle drop at the next aid station. Littering is penalized quite hard now and bottle drops AFTER an aid station seems to be a BIG afterthought where I raced, could shave me 86g bottle + 38g Gorilla + 1g screws = 125g to just drop the bottle once refilled the Speedfil. I don't use other aid stations and I tried to refill the Speedfil going down hills where pedalling wasn't giving me much total gain.

5 odd pounds IS alot of weight, but regardless of my bike weighing 6.5kgs or 9kgs that stuff will still be there.

I tried to think about lightening up the extras:-----------------0000g The IsoGels in a bottle works as opposed to regular Gels taped to the bike, takes too long to open, sometimes splatter all over the bike, aid stations often don't have Isogels, plus littering issues. I'll stick to what works here.

Regarding your comments I agree on the "Aero first, then weight" when it comes to Tri bikes, but I think I've done that actually. The weight has been a secondary goal:- The frame could be 300g lighter if I took a Storck but last name aint Rockefeller and I believe QR when they say it has a pretty good topend Aero value on the frame.- The Speedfil / Torhans is only there cause its aero, cause a Gorilla+bottle would be lighter and less bothersome.- The Zipps werent chosen for weight, then I would've gone for Lightweight VR8 or Zipp 303 with tubulars. I wanted clinchers and Zipp 404 FC has the max Aero value of any carbon clinchers I've heard off and then I can get to use the Bontrager R4 Aero tires which I'm really excited about. The Specialized Mondo Open Tubular can't be bought in my region so I had no feedback on them, while the R4 are available fast and buddies say they are Ok.- The handlebar was chosen because its very versatile in fitting it, ie screws and adjustability everywhere, so my Retül fitter can eventually re-fit me easily for max power output over 180.- The Garmin Vector was chosen because it has a very lightweight compared to conventional power meters and I don't think Garmin would put rubbish on the street after 3 years of dev and purchasing a whole company just for that product, so I am getting a power meter, when it comes, even one that can tell me more info about my pedalling than others.- The brake levers were chosen for their awesome turn-and-adjust feature.- The ceramic BB were chosen cause my a TT friend told me its pure extra gain right there, so also kinda Aero, not chosen for weight.- The FSA K-Force was chosen for weight, but is probably something I only might buy a long time after the Sram Red group set and might end up with full Sram Red and a ceramic axle unless the Red comes with that too. I think the K-force will be deadlast on the buylist.

So I kinda see it as a maxed-Aero-semi-Weight-Weenied TT Tri-only(not UCI, the frame alone is illegal..) bike, to the best of my current knowledge and without resorting to extreme parts.

I fully agree on the steady ride makes a faster run. Last race I was in, the pro lead T2 man had 22 minutes lead and dropped out after 28km in 9th position.. I'm still new to powerriding, as I havent got a power meter till Garmin gets Vector out and then I think I will be aiming for 280-300 watt average, maybe lower in the start for 180, but 280 for 90 in 70.3 sounds "not crazy" in my ears.

For Tri concentrate more on aero. There is some increasing interest in aero here, but as the majority of riding on this forum is not TT or Triatholon, you will encounter many in-depth and continual debates on the merits of aero frames (non-TT/Tri).

The forums at SlowTwitch are more oriented for TT/Tri specialists.

As for colour: no reason you can't get your rig custom painted however you want!

I have a friend who used to do Tris (she still does, but we've lost touch) - she would set up her transition area perfectly, but before the race place a teddy bear of somesort on bike, something that would be visible from a distance as everyone was running into the pits. Quick change, grab the doll (she gave it a quick kiss... actually that was the best part, she is incredibly hot) tossed it aside and rode off. She said it helped lighten the mood when everyone is so cross-eyed with racing adrenaline. Might be something to consider with your own twist?

I've tried to explain my choices in a new post above here, I wen't Aero first and then WW after that.

I know Slowtwitch and read them often too, but I like WW forums too, the level of knowledge is so INCREDIBLY high! I'll go for other forums for Swim and Run but for Bike, WW rules imo.

Custom color paintjobs are really expensive here, but yeah its a possibility

Regarding your girl friend there: Its not allowed to mark bikes down anymore. Even a bright neon beachtowel under the bike is now illegal or so I heard.From the latest two race guides:

Quote:

Please note that it is not allowed to mark your bike with balloons or alike. The race marshals will remove such effects.

So bike color is the only allowed visual aid for that. I walk the T1 route 3-5 times, but the stress still makes one blind at times

Edit: The towels are now illegal as well, checked with a former marshall.

I've learned a bunch from just writing it so that alone was a project worth doing!

I still like the plan, its Aero first then Weight, but they go nicely hand in hand. Realisticly I'm gonna have to add 750g for a 2nd water bottle in the grand total though as drinking through aid stations alone, as in catch-bottle-2-gulps-drop-bottle x 6, might slow me down more and is subject to littering zones being available after the aid stations and not before..alternatively grab bottle, drink 2 gulps, empty bottle, place empty bottle in holder till next aid station, drop it in litter zone before just before aid station, repeat grab bottle...

I still near to figure out if my brakes's weight is without brake cables and what those I got weigh, as the brakes are fine as they are.

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